Why does your dog care so much?

There is no denying that dogs are incredibly loyal animals but what has long been a mystery is why they are so loyal to their owners. Some have suggested that their loyalty comes from the fact that they know that they are being fed and cared for and want this to continue – although that is a very cynical way of looking at it, others have suggested that they pick up on the love and affection that you give them, and they simply repay it. However, studies have been undertaken where a dog has been taken into a room where a woman is crying, and some breeds went up to the woman, even though she was a complete stranger, and lay their head on her lap in a bid to give her comfort. This study took place when an experiment was undertaken to see whether a dog could be trained to fly a plane and the results were staggering.

When you leave a dog in a Dog Boarding Surrey area like nestledownboardingkennels.co.uk they will appreciate the warmth and kindness that they are shown by the staff but their love is truly visible when you return to collect them and their tails wag vigorously and the bound around in a bid to show you how happy they are that you have returned.

If you look into the psychology of dogs as pack animals, you can see some evidence as to why loyalty and affection to others in the pack is incredibly important. Much like tigers and wolves pack animals rely on each other for food, warmth and affection and this is no different in domesticated dogs. The only difference is that they family they live with becomes their pack. Pack animals must trust one another in order to survive and their instincts mean that they look after one another. This is something that dogs haven’t lost.

In 2005 an experiment was carried out looking at dogs’ incredible sense of smell and the areas of the brain that were affected when certain items were smelt. A number of dogs were given the scent of their owner, scent of a strange and scent of food and then their brain activity was monitored as they smelt each item. When the dogs smelt their owners the area of the brain that controls positive emotions and happiness was activated in much the same way as ours is when we associate a smell or sight of someone we love.